One Tree Hill sequel series emerges from rewatch podcast cocoon

Nothing ever truly dies in Hollywood; at the very least, it can someday become a podcast. And if you’re really lucky, maybe your podcast will also lead to the show getting rebooted. That’s the trajectory of the WB’s teen soap One Tree Hill, which enjoyed some renewed interest over the past few years due to the Drama Queens rewatch podcast hosted by Hilarie Burton, Sophia Bush, and Bethany Joy Lenz. Thanks to their tireless efforts, Netflix has now greenlit a sequel series produced by Burton and Bush.

The original One Tree Hill followed a group of high school students through their tumultuous adolescence into their dramatic young adulthood. According to Deadline, “The sequel is said to take place 20 years later following best friends Brooke and Peyton who are now parents to teens and facing challenges not unfamiliar to what they tackled in the original series like love, insecurities and grief.”

There are a few behind-the-scenes points of interest here that make the One Tree Hill revival eyebrow-raising. For one, the series was created by Mark Schwahn, whom the women of the show have since accused of abuse of power and misconduct. Schwahn won’t be involved with the new show, which instead is being helmed by writer/executive producer Becky Hartman Edwards (Firefly Lane), who had no involvement in the original series. 

Even more interestingly, Burton and Bush will serve as EPs alongside Jensen and Danneel Ackles, the latter of whom played Rachel Scott on the original show—but not Lenz, with whom the duo created the Drama Queens podcast. Burton recently turned over her podcast co-hosting duties to Robert Buckley, ostensibly because her character Peyton left the show in the seventh season, but fans have been speculating there may be a feud amongst the titular Queens. Meanwhile, Bush finds herself in the position of co-hosting a One Tree Hill podcast with one co-star and reviving One Tree Hill with another.

Speaking of co-stars, Burton and Bush are the only two original cast members officially signed on, with Ackles in talks to reprise her role as Rachel. Despite the fact that he’s expressed interest in returning for a revival multiple times, former OTH heartthrob Chad Michael Murray “has no plans to return for the follow-up,” according to Deadline. (Maybe because his ex-wife is executive producing it?) The report indicates “there have been conversations with other members of the ensemble cast” to come back, but nothing is set in stone yet, not even with their freakin’ podcast co-host! The implications of interpersonal drama here is almost juicer than whatever a television writer could come up with. Who knows what else might come up as this show is in development.